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Contemporary and historical factors affecting the development of nursing
Historical developments of nursing
Contributions of Florence Nightingale in nursing practice
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The biggest impact to the nursing profession was not recognized until the appearance of Florence Nightingale in the mid 1800’s. Nightingale impressed the medical field with her personal research in epidemiology of infection control and her principles to nursing care. In 1859 Nightingale publishes the first instruction manual for nurses named “Notes on Nursing.” Following that in 1860, the Nightingale Training School for nurses opens in England and is quickly deemed a success. Her work was impressive that it spread globally. Many nursing schools soon used her principles to develop the concept of nursing care (American Nursing: An Introduction to the Past, n.d.).
From 1873 to1889, the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing opened in New York City
notices to patients and their families, schedule and lead the meetings. Wishing to be actively involved in the process, I represented nursing along with the charge nurse of the unit and the charge aide.
“Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion. Remember he is face to face with his enemy all the time, internally wrestling with him” (Nightingale, 1992, p. 22). Fortunately, in the nineteenth century, Florence Nightingale recognized uncertainty could cause harm to her patients (Nightingale, 1992). Equally important to the nursing profession are the nursing theorists, their work, and the evolution of the theories that followed Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing (Alligood, 2014).
Nursing as a profession dates back for at least several centuries. Those first truly recognized as nurses were wet nurses, or those who cared for the child when the mother was unable to. However, as with most modern jobs, nursing has progressed with the passage of time. Throughout history, there were many influential nurses, such as Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Moreover, one nurse known to many to have contributed greatly to the field of nursing is Florence Nightingale.
Registered nurses work to contribute good health and prevent illness. They also treat patients and help go through there rehabilitation and also give support and advice to patients family. Registered nurses are general-duty nurses who focus in the achievement of caring for their patients. They are under the supervision of a doctor. As I researched this career It brought more questions to my life. It became a big interest that soon I would have an opportunity to answer my own questions obviously with the help of others.
West, E., Griffith, W., Iphofen, R. (2007, April vol.16/no.2). A historical perspective on the nursing
In November 1856 a Nightingale fund was set up to found a training school specifically for nurses. In 1860 she laid the foundation of modern nursing when she established her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. It was the first nursing school in the world. Nightingale spent the rest of her life promoting and spreading medical knowledge. She especially promoted and organized the nursing profession. She died at the age of 90 peacefully in her bed on August 13,
In Nightingale Square, it is an urban area, all buildings no open areas or lawns, no houses or flower boxes. The roads are paved and taken care of, no pot holes or debris alongside. There are live, green growing, well-kept tress along the streets and there is an overpass at the edge of the Square. There is an area fenced off and noted ‘No Trespassing’.
To this day, the most admired person in nursing history would be Florence Nightingale. She will forever be an influential figure in the world of nursing due to her perseverance and critical thinking skills that saved so many lives during the Crimean War. There is no way to tell how long it could have taken nursing to evolve without the help of Nightingale. In her book, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not, Nightingale described a multitude of factors that must be considered when helping the ill to recover and to have the healthy maintain their well-being (Nightingale, 1860/1969). Four chapters in her book are of high importance, chapter two, on Health of Homes, chapter
Before Nightingale, nurses were lower class citizens that were alcoholics or prostitutes with no to a little education. Florence Nightingale realized that nurses ought to have some education in caring for others and be of a higher class. In 1860, she opened the first nursing school in London that did not accept prostitutes and alcoholics. To signify Nightingale’s view of nursing, Lystra Gretter composed a Hippocratic Oath for nurses called the Nightingale pledge.
Before the modernization and reform of their profession in the mid-1800s, nurses were believed to perform “women’s work”, which implied menial duties, unskilled service, and an overall lack of skill (Garey, "Sentimental women need not apply"). This mentality was substantiated by the “untrained attendants, [including] past patients, vagrants, and prostitutes,” that performed a variety of nursing tasks (Garey). Florence Nightingale’s nursing experiences during the Crimean War, her subsequent publication of Notes on Nursing, and her work to build up professionalism within the field transformed the way that the world and society viewed nursing. She introduced invigorating ideas of patient care, nursing roles and responsibilities, and was a strong proponent of nursing education. Nightingale’s overall work inspired and changed the profession of nursing, laying the foundation for its
Florence Nightingale was a pioneer in nursing and maintained it as an independent profession which was not secondary to the medical profession but equal. *Nightingale 1969 cited by Hoeve et al 2013 The ongoing education and training which supports the nursing as a profession must be maintained. The self-concept of nurses is enormously important in maintaining a professional identity. ‘Nurses’ self-concept can be defined as information and belief that nurses have about their roles, values and behaviours’ (Takase et al. 2002, p. 197; Hoeve et al.
A theory I can relate to is Nightingales theory, I found her theory to be extremely interesting. A patient health is affected by the environment that they are in, whether it is at the hospital or at their house. Once a patient is discharged the nurse should be aware of the patient home environment, what they have access to, and what they don’t have.
Florence Nightingale was a groundbreaking figure in the nursing profession who immensely affected 19th and 20th century policies regarding proper care. She was known as the “Lady with the Lamp” for making nightly rounds through
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale is called the mother of nursing because of her many advancements to the role of the nursing practice. Nightingale first became part of the nursing world at the age of thirty one. With the Crimean war, it gave Nightingale the opportunity to expand the nursing role. Nightingale had to overcome many difficulties, prejudice, and oppression that women faced in the working field, which she successfully did and gave way to a new era of nursing. Conceptual Model of Nursing Nightingale has forever changed the way people look at nurses and how nurses care for their patients.
“Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles.”(International Council of Nurses). This paper will discuss about how the foundations of nursing began with a one of the theorist point of view, how and why nursing is a profession and why we collaborate with other individuals in the medical field. Florence Nightingale is one of the most famous nurses in history, she had many accomplishments that pushed nursing into a profession. The